TOILET REVOLUTION

Rushing to
attend nature's call and inside the toilet, you
have to hold your breath. This was a reflex action
of the body till a few years ago, inside the
filthy toilets in China's cities.

Now, granite floors,
remote-sensor flushing, automatic hand-driers and
piped music are the norm. Beijing launched a
three-year campaign - with a 400-million Yuan ($57
million) investment - to modernize its public
toilets in 2005 to get ready for the 2008
Olympics. With 1,000 new public toilets being
built and renovated each year, the fetid
back-street privies are being replaced with clean,
well-maintained flush toilets.

Beijing is now flushed
with pride that all the 5,333 public toilets, with
standardized white male and female figure signs
are available within a five-minute walk of any
downtown location, according to a Xinhua report.
There will be 1,500 toilets in the Olympic venues
and around it by the time Beijing Games start.
Toilets in restaurants, bars and shopping malls
are required by the government to be maintained
properly, not only for the sake of their business,
but also to show a more civilized Beijing. A
survey by Beijing's Municipal Bureau of Tourism in
1994 showed more than 60 percent of overseas
travelers were dissatisfied with Beijing's
toilets, and most described going to the smelly
and dirty toilets as a revolting experience.

However, there is a
culture clash over which kind of toilet is better.
Westerners are used to seated toilets, which are
more comfortable and convenient for the elderly or
the infirm. The squat, or keyhole, toilets widely
used in Chinese public toilets are considered more
hygienic as there is no body contact, given the
condition of some public toilet seats.

The Chinese government
has distributed pamphlets to promote a civilized
behavior¯, on topics such as toilet use,
no-spitting and jumping queues. Inside public
toilets, reminders of proper use of toilets are
posted on the walls. A lesson in toilet education,
much needed by the Indians!